https://journalejmp.com/index.php/EJMP <p style="text-align: justify;"><strong>European Journal of Medicinal Plants (ISSN: 2231-0894)</strong> is dedicated to publish&nbsp;high quality papers (<a href="/index.php/EJMP/general-guideline-for-authors">Click here for Types of paper</a>)&nbsp;in all areas of medicinal plants research including plant growth and development, agronomic management, plant nutrition, plant physiology, cell biology, molecular biology, biotechnology, medicinal properties, phytochemical constituents, fitoterapia, pharmacognosy, essential oils, ehnopharmacology and phytomedicine. By not excluding papers based on novelty, this journal facilitates the research and wishes to publish papers as long as they are technically correct and scientifically motivated. The journal also encourages the submission of useful reports of negative results. This is a quality controlled, OPEN peer-reviewed, open-access INTERNATIONAL journal.</p> SCIENCEDOMAIN international en-US European Journal of Medicinal Plants 2231-0894 https://journalejmp.com/index.php/EJMP/article/view/1120 <p><strong>Aims: </strong>To primary rat embryonic hippocampal neurons in culture, ashwagandha or one of its active ingredients, withanolide A were added in the presence or absence of nutrient supplementation and then assayed for activity of the BDNF receptor, TrkB.</p> <p><strong>Study Design:</strong>&nbsp; Primary hippocampal neurons were cultured and grown in nutrient-rich or nutrient-poor medium.&nbsp; Ashwagandha or withanolide A were then be added to both types of media with or without an inhibitor of TrkB or either the PI-3K or MAPK pathway.</p> <p><strong>Place and Duration of Study:</strong> Department of Biological Sciences, California State University, Los Angeles, CA, USA, between July 2021 and August 2022.</p> <p><strong>Methodology:</strong> Rat embryos were removed by cesarean section from mother rats at 18 days’ gestation and the hippocampi of the former dissected, plated into culture dishes, and treated with the appropriate drug(s) (see Study Design above).&nbsp; After 4 days, neurons were harvested for Western blotting.&nbsp; Optical density of Western blot bands were quantified and statistically analyzed in a 2-way ANOVA, using a level of statistical significance at <em>P</em> &lt; .05.</p> <p><strong>Results:</strong> Under normal conditions (with N2 supplement), ashwagandha, but not withanolide A, increased phospho-TrkB immunoreactivity when compared to the effects of vehicle (controls, F_{(11, 24)} = 22.48, <em>P</em> &lt; .001), although withanolide A did not quite reach statistical significance (<em>P</em> = .069) when compared to that of the controlled condition.&nbsp; Likewise, under nutrient-deprived conditions, both ashwagandha and withanolide A also increased phosphorylation of TrkB when compared to that of vehicle-nutrient-deprived conditions (<em>P</em> &lt; .0001). The same results were obtained in the presence of inhibitors of TrkB itself and the PI-3K (ashwagandha, <em>P</em> &lt; .001; withanolide A, <em>P</em> &lt; .001) and MAPK (ashwagandha, <em>P</em> = .027; withanolide A, <em>P</em> = .045) pathways.</p> <p><strong>Conclusion:</strong> Ashwagandha or withanolide A activates TrkB, in nutrient-deprived hippocampal neurons, underscoring its role in neuronal survival signaling.</p> Michael Chen Amelia Russo-Neustadt ##submission.copyrightStatement## 2023-01-27 2023-01-27 1 12 10.9734/ejmp/2023/v34i21120 https://journalejmp.com/index.php/EJMP/article/view/1121 <p><strong>Background: </strong>Lung cancer and malignant mesothelioma are types of cancer with a poor prognosis and fatal. Small cell lung cancer is much more aggressive and survival shorter than non-small cell lung carcinoma. Mesothelioma is a rare malignant disease that commonly affects the pleura. Cisplatin is frequently used in chemotherapy protocols. Thymoquinone is a chemical with antineoplastic effects procured from the Nigella Sativa plant. It was aimed to investigate the effects of thymoquinone and cisplatin on small cell lung cancer and mesothelioma cell lines.</p> <p><strong>Methodology:</strong> The study was done in the Cell Culture Laboratory of Gaziantep University. Cell lines of small cell lung cancer, malignant pleural mesothelioma and non-cancerous bronchial epithelium were used in the study. Cells were cultured in dimethyl sulfoxide. The effective doses of thymoquinone and cisplatin were calculated. Accordingly, which were detected doses of thymoquinone as 100 μM and&nbsp; cisplatin as 200 μM. The viability of cells were evaluated using 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-il) 2,5-diphenyl tetrazolium bromide test. Experiments were repeated 4 times at different times by the same team in the same laboratory. Statistical analysis of the study was done using the Chi-square test. The study was was accordance with international standards on cell lines in the laboratory.</p> <p><strong>Results: </strong>Chemical treats were administering on all cell lines at doses of 100 μM and 200 μM. Thymoquinone at a dose of 100 mm; viability of cells were detected in 48% in mesothelioma, 44% in small cell lung cancer and 55% in noncancerous epithelium cell lines. Cisplatin at a dose of 200 μM; viability of cells were detected in 63% in mesothelioma, 48% in small cell lung cancer and 59% in noncancerous epithelium cell lines. There was no significant toxicity of dimethyl sulfoxide used as a chemical solvent when compared with physiological saline.</p> <p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Thymoquinone at a dose of 100 μM was more effective than cisplatin at a dose of 200 μM on both small cell lung cancer and malignant pleural mesothelioma cell lines. Cisplatin was more effective in small cell lung cancer than malignant pleural mesothelioma at a dose of 200 μM. The effects of thymoquinone were similar in both cancer cell lines.</p> Bayrakçi Onur Taşdemir Demet Işik Ahmet Ferudun ##submission.copyrightStatement## 2023-02-04 2023-02-04 13 19 10.9734/ejmp/2023/v34i21121